Ticket to Ride

Some people claim that board games are old-fashioned. Or that you can’t beat video games. Those people have never played Ticket to Ride. Ticket to Ride is one of the finest family games available today. Created by Alan Moon and published by Days of Wonder, Ticket to Ride eschews many of the conventions of the modern board game – no dice, no money, no moving your token around a board trying to ‘beat’ your opponents.

Instead, Ticket to Ride relies less on luck than on using imagination and strategy to create a game that is as addicting as it is enjoyable.

Ticket to Ride is set in 1900, and each player is given the task of creating various railway lines around the United States. The point of the game is to build the largest and longest lines linking your designated cities. It may sound simple – and it is – but it it devilishly fun. Each player is tasked with completing their own railway lines, but must also make sure other players don’t grab key lines in the process. In the end, points are tallied to declare a winner.

Ticket to Ride is simple to learn – any one over 8 should have little trouble mastering the game within a few minutes. But unlike most games, Ticket to Ride isn’t a child’s game. The game play may be the same each time, but the strategies and results can vary wildly from game to game. Many traditional board games grow ‘boring’ for most kids (and adults) after a short time as the game results grow all too familiar. That’s never the case with Ticket to Ride, as goals change from game to game (in fact, goals change within the game).

The end results is that Ticket to Ride is a game for people of any age. The manufacturer recommends the 2-5 players, but you should have at least three. The more players you have, the more complex (and maddening) and fun the game gets. It’s a perfect family game – since adults will be as challenged as the kids. And there’s an educational aspect to the game as well, as children (and adults) learn geography and a bit of history.

Ticket to Ride can be purchased online or in specialty game stores for between $40-50.

There are other versions of Ticket to Ride (such as Ticket to Ride Europe). We recommend selecting the original game before trying out the other versions.

So put away the video game console. Next time your looking for a true ‘family’ event, break out Ticket to Ride.